Many of today's automotive vehicles, such as sport utility vehicles and minivans, are provided with liftgates having latches with power releases. It is typical in these power releases to use a return spring to return the mechanism to a rest position after operating which can produce undesirable noise and detract from the power and efficiency of the mechanism. The latch closing spring is generally large and undesirably noisy in its operation.
BMW incorporates into certain of its vehicles a deck lid latch that operates without a return spring. In the BMW design there is a rotating actuator that is controlled to move through only a single revolution by using the latch pawl as an actuator stop. There is disadvantage in this type of latch as the pawl and the stop have a one-piece construction which denies independent motion of the pawl. Furthermore, the pawl is large and heavy as a result of the inclusion of the stop feature on the pawl. Furthermore, the pawl with its built in stop works only on a one position ratchet.
Other examples of latches with rotating actuators include: DE 42 18 177; U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,934,717; 6,076,868; and 6,155,124.